IBEW LOCAL 280 REFERRAL PROCEDURES & RULES
EFFECTIVE 7/1/06
Ü Initial sign-in for all applicants shall be in person. Sign-in hours are Monday - Friday, 8-12 am & 1-5 pm. All Union members signing the out-of-work list should present the following: a current dues receipt, a Letter of Introduction and identification with a picture. Non-members should show proof of employment in the electrical industry for the out-of-work list they intend to sign and identification with a picture to sign that out-of-work list.
Everyone dispatched must have a valid State of Oregon Electrical License.
Ü Local 280 uses a call/show system. Calls are placed on the referral hotline from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. the following day. You can contact the referral hotline at 1-800-947-3280 (1-800 WIRE280). If you are interested in any of the calls, leave your referral number* and the book number after the beep sounds. (*This is the number you were given when you signed the book.) Remember to leave which book you signed. For example, if your number was 100 and you signed Book II, you would say, “Number 100, Book II”. No other information is necessary. To assure your number is recorded it is recommended you use a hard-wired phone.
Ü The dispatcher will dispatch from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. for the calls on the hotline the previous evening. LOCAL 280 RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISPATCH AFTER 10:00 A.M. IF NECESSARY TO FILL THE AVAILABLE CALLS. You must be immediately available to accept the call. The dispatcher will not wait for you to call back, etc. Any calls not filled by telephone dispatch will be available over-the-counter on a first-come-first-served basis. The Business Manager is responsible for filling calls in a timely manner as needed by the employer. This means in an emergency, referral may have to be made outside normal hours using whatever means are available to fill calls and place registrants. Any calls left unfilled will be placed on the hotline for the following day and if the call was an extended call, it will result in a turndown strike for everyone on the list.
The Three Strike Rule:
Ü When a call is placed on the referral hotline, it is the responsibility of every eligible applicant to accept a call from the book they are registered on (i.e. CO or Valley Book). Applicants on the Valley Book also have the option of registering in either the north or south Valley zone (north or south of Highway 34) for the purposes of turndowns only. Individuals who refuse a referral or who could have been referred to a job call in the zone they are registered in but do not respond shall be issued a turndown strike. A job call from the Valley list shall be announced as either a north or a south Valley call, failure to accept a call in the zone an applicant has declared will result in a turndown Strike. Example: There are 100 applicants on the out-of-work list and there are calls for 4 JW’s. Two jobs are Valley south, one call CO and one call Valley north. Number 37 on the list mans the last job. Every applicant from #1 to #36 that did not take a job or call in gets a turndown strike if the job was listed on the Hotline as being in the zone they were registered for. Turndown strikes stay with a referral number, they go away when a new number is issued. Applicants will be allowed two turndown strikes without penalty and will be removed from the out-of-work list after a third turndown strike. Applicants must re-sign the appropriate out-of-work list in person after being removed.
Exceptions- Strikes will not be issued under the following circumstances:
A. No Dispatch – If Local 280 refuses to dispatch the applicant to a job.
B. SALT – An applicant who is employed as a SALT pursuant to authorization from Local 280 will not receive a strike while so employed.
C. Bona Fide skill or Prerequisite - An applicant will not receive a strike for not taking a call that requires a bona fide skill (i.e. service van, welding etc.). Similarly, if the employer requires a prerequisite that the applicant is unable to obtain in a timely manner then a strike will not be issued for failing to take the call. (For example, must have a driver’s license or original birth certificate.)
D. Not for Rehire or “Spun” – An applicant shall not receive a strike for not taking a call to an employer who previously terminated the individual with a for-cause disciplinary action or if the applicant has been previously turned or “spun” around by the employer.
E. Vacation/Leave – An applicant may designate up to four weeks per calendar year as a “vacation” week subject to the following rules:
1. The request must be in blocks of one or more weeks (i.e. not for 2 or 3 days.)
2. The request must be submitted prior to dispatch.
3. The request must be submitted either in person or in writing by fax, email or postal mail. The burden is on the requestor; if the fax or email is not received no vacation will be granted. The hall must have a written record of all requests.
4. During the vacation/leave week the applicant will not receive a strike but is still eligible to take a call. However, if the applicant takes a call they will forfeit the balance of the week (regardless of whether employment is obtained)
5. Once made, the request for vacation/leave may not be revoked.
6. Submitting a notice of vacation/leave does not satisfy the obligation to re-sign monthly.
F. Jury duty - An applicant shall not receive a strike for any day they are required to report for jury duty. (The applicant must provide the dispatcher with proof of jury service dates.)
G. Military Duty - An applicant shall not receive a strike for any day they are in active military service (plus 90 days following date of discharge)
H. Union Business – An applicant shall not receive a strike for not taking a call while they are conducting authorized union business (LMCC, negotiations, Progress meetings etc.)
I. Call - An applicant on the Inside Book shall not receive a strike for not taking a commercial call designated as a combination commercial/residential call.
J. Involuntary Leave - An applicant who is unable to work due to illness, injury, disease or other similar documented reason shall be able to maintain their place on the out-of-work list without receiving a strike for up to a maximum of one year. The applicant must provide the dispatcher with a notice from a medical professional stating that the applicant is unable to work. If an individual who has been on involuntary leave status wants to be dispatched but cannot provide a written release to work from their treating professional (or other similar documentation) then such individual will be removed from the Book.
K. Previous rejection – If an applicant is dispatched and rejected for employment, and the same call is available the next day, an applicant will not get a strike for not taking the same call.
L. Working on The Road - Applicants on Book I that are working out of another IBEW Local may avoid strikes as follows:
1. Fax to the IBEW Local 280 dispatcher a copy of your dispatch within one business day of receiving the dispatch. (541-812-1766)
2. You will be immune from strikes until one week after your termination.
3. You must fax or hand deliver your termination slip within one week of the day you were terminated.
Removal of Strikes
It is the dispatcher’s responsibility to give strikes in accordance with these rules. Applicants may determine the number of strikes by examining records at the hiring hall or by e-mailing or calling the dispatcher (dispatcher@ibew280.org or 541-812-1771)
If an applicant believes a strike was given improperly, he or she may file an appeal with the Appeals Committee within one week of strike issue. The dispatcher can correct clerical errors.
Ü Anyone accepting a call that lasts more than one calendar month will be removed from the out-of-work list. Anyone receiving, through no fault of his/her own, employment of one calendar month or less will maintain his/her number on the out-of-work list and will be placed at the bottom of the short-call list.
Ü Anyone accepting a third extended call under the same referral number will have his/her name removed from the out-of-work list and be placed at the bottom of the list upon termination regardless of duration of the call.
Ü Anyone accepting a Foreman call-out-by-name shall have his/her name removed from the out-of-work book regardless of the duration of the call. An employer shall have the right to call Foremen by name provided:
1. The employee has not quit his previous employer within the past two weeks.
2. The employer shall notify the Business Manager in writing of the name of the individual who is to be requested for employment as a foreman. Upon request, the Business Manager shall refer said Foreman provided the name appears on the highest priority group.*
3. When an employee is called as a Foreman, he must remain as a Foreman for one (1) year or must receive a reduction in force.
* If an applicant has not worked under the terms of the Inside collective bargaining agreement for a period of one year in the last four years they may not be called out as a Foreman by name unless NECA and Local Union 280 mutually agree.
Ü Local 280 will maintain a separate short-call list. Your name will automatically be placed on the short-call list when you sign the book. Short calls will be one calendar month or less. After dispatch to a short call, your name will be removed from the short-call list. Upon presentation of a termination slip, your name will be returned to the short-call list after that of the last individual signed. In no case will a short call be extended beyond one month. Acceptance or rejection of a short-call will not affect your place on the out-of-work list for extended calls, and will not result in a turndown.
Ü If a member quits or is terminated with cause, that member must sign the bottom of the appropriate out-of-work book in person. Any individual who receives two discharges for cause within a twelve month period will be suspended from future referral privileges until they appear before the Appeals Committee for a determination as to their continued eligibility for referral. When anyone accepts a referral and fails to show up and man the job, his/her name shall be removed from the out-of-work list and that person must re-sign in person.
Ü Monthly re-sign may be by mail, e-mail, in person or via fax transmission. You must present a termination slip from a contractor to which you were dispatched to be eligible to re-sign. If you re-sign from a call via fax transmission, e-mail or mail it is your responsibility to contact Local 280 and confirm that the Local received the termination. At that time you may request your referral number.
Ü In order to remain on the out-of-work list you must re-sign before the end of every month by one of the above mentioned means. Individuals who fail to up-date by the end of the last day of the month will be removed from the out-of-work list. When re-signing please include your name and referral number.
Ü Re-sign after removal from the out-of-work list shall be in person.
Ü Requests for removal from the out-of-work list shall be in writing or in person.
Ü Individuals being dispatched from the highest priority group may sign the book for work in the Willamette Valley (southern half of Yamhill County, Marion County, Polk County, Benton County, Linn County, and that portion of Lane County lying east of a line running north and south from the northeast corner of Lincoln County) or may choose to sign for Central Oregon (CO) (Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties). In addition, applicants on the Willamette Valley Book shall designate either north or south upon signing, with Highway 34 as the dividing line. Calls in the Willamette Valley would be designated either as a north or as a south call on the Referral Hotline; turndown strikes for not accepting employment would then be assigned only to those registered either north or south. If no zone is designated, registrant will be entered in both zones. Willamette Valley Book Applicants would be eligible for both a north and an south call, but would only receive a turndown strike if the job was in the same zone as that which they designated. Applicants who wish to change their designation after their initial registration must re-sign at the bottom of the list.
Ü Individuals who sign for the Willamette Valley shall have preference for all calls placed for dispatch in the six counties noted above. Overflow calls (calls not filled by individuals signed on the Willamette Valley book) will then be offered to individuals signed on the CO book. Applicants signed CO will have preference for calls being dispatched in the three counties noted above and any overflow calls will revert to applicants signed on the Willamette Valley book.
Ü In no case will calls be dispatched to a lower status group unless all individuals seeking employment from the highest priority group have been given an opportunity through referral to accept or reject all job calls. Calls dispatched on all other group lists will be dispatched through the referral procedure by ascending referral number without regard to the location of the job or the place of residence of the workers accepting the calls.
Ü The Local Union reserves the right to deal with emergencies arising from implementation of these procedures in such manner as deemed appropriate.
Ü This document, in conjunction with the Inside, Sound & Communication and Residential Collective Bargaining Agreements negotiated with the Oregon Pacific-Cascade Chapter of NECA, constitute Local 280’s Referral Procedure as of the posting date.
